2017 Albuquerque mayoral election

The 2017 Albuquerque mayoral election was a nonpartisan election, held on October 3, 2017, to choose the next mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Richard J. Berry, the incumbent mayor, did not seek reelection. This was the first mayoral election in Albuquerque without an incumbent candidate in twenty years. All candidates ran on the same ballot. No candidate reached 50% of the vote so a runoff election was held between the top two finishers on November 14, 2017.[1]

2017 Albuquerque mayoral election
October 3 and November 14, 2017
 
Candidate Tim Keller Dan Lewis
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 60,219 36,594
Percentage 62.2% 37.8%
Mayor before election

Richard J. Berry
Republican

 Elected Mayor

Tim Keller
Democratic

Elections in New Mexico

The race was non-partisan (i.e., party affiliations do not appear on the ballot).[2] However, "although the election is nonpartisan, a candidate’s political affiliation obviously can play a role in the campaign."[1] In order to appear on the ballot, a candidate must collect 3,000 signatures from Albuquerque registered voters and submit them to the city clerk's office.[3]

The maximum allowed campaign contribution that may be given to a candidate is $5,193 per person or company, which is 5% of the mayor's salary.[4]

Alongside the mayoral election, five seats of the city council were up for re-election. Incumbent councillors Ken Sanchez (District 1), Klarissa Peña (District 3), Diane G. Gibson (District 7) and Don Harris (District 9) were re-elected. In District 5, Cynthia Borrego, who identifies as a Democrat, won the runoff against Robert Aragon, who ran as a Republican for State Auditor in 2014. The District 5 seat was vacated by Dan Lewis, who ran for mayor.

Primary election

Candidates

Qualified for ballot

in alphabetical order

Unclear

The following candidates announced, but it was unclear whether they submitted enough signatures to get on the ballot

  • Eddy Aragon, an independent, conservative talk radio show host on KIVA 95.9 FM (Voter registration: Independent)[7]
  • Stella Anne Padilla, retired Old Town resident[5] (Voter registration: Democratic)[4][8]

Withdrew from race or did not make it on ballot

Declined

  • Richard J. Berry, incumbent mayor (Voter registration: Republican)[1]
  • Pete Dinelli (Voter registration: Democratic), former city councilor and local prosecutor, unsuccessful candidate for mayor in 2013 and 1989[10]
  • James Lewis, president of the Alumni Association of the University of New Mexico, former state treasurer[10]

Results
Mayor of Albuquerque election results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Keller 38,156 39%
Republican Dan Lewis 22,238 23%
Democratic Brian Colón 15,884 16%
Republican Wayne Johnson 9,342 10%
Democratic Augustus "Gus" Pedrotty 6,638 7%
Independent Michelle Garcia Holmes 3,748 4%
Independent Susan Wheeler-Deichsel 490 1%
Republican Ricardo Chaves 475 0%
Total votes 96,971 100%

Runoff election

Candidates

Polling
Poll source Date(s)
administered		 Sample
size		 Margin of
error		 Tim
Keller		 Dan
Lewis		 Undecided
Carroll Strategies October 4, 2017 - ± 4.1% 49.2% 36.4% 14.4%

Results
Mayor of Albuquerque runoff election results, 2017
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tim Keller 60,219 62.2%
Republican Dan Lewis 36,594 37.8%
Total votes 96,813 100%

Source: Bernalillo County, New Mexico County Clerk;[11]

References
  1. McKay, Dan (December 5, 2016). "ABQ likely to see unusual race for mayor". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  2. McKay, Dan (May 4, 2016). "Albuquerque's mayoral race has its first candidate". Albuquerque Journal.
  3. Andy Lyman, Long list of potential ABQ mayoral candidates as signature deadline approaches, NM Political Report (April 26, 2017).
  4. Martin Salazar, Money already pouring into mayor's race, Albuquerque Journal (April 18, 2017).
  5. Martin Salazar, 9 of 16 mayoral candidates qualify for ballot, Albuquerque Journal (April 28, 2017).
  6. Terrell, Steve. "State auditor enters race for Albuquerque mayor". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  7. Dan McKay, State auditor announces bid for ABQ mayor, Albuquerque Journal (January 11, 201).
  8. Olivier Uyttebrouck, Wheeler-Deichsel enters race for Albuquerque mayor, Albuquerque Journal (February 17, 2017).
  9. Marie C. Baca, Archuleta drops out of Albuquerque mayor’s race, Albuquerque Journal (May 26, 2017).
  10. Marie C. Baca, Dinelli decides to skip mayor’s race, Albuquerque Journal (February 1, 2017).
  11. "Bernalillo County, New Mexico, USA - Unofficial Election Results". app.bernco.gov. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
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